Europe

African Iron Ore Group Limited and Société Guinéenne du Patrimoine Minier have announced the formation of a joint venture company to develop and finance infrastructure for the Simandou South iron ore mining project in Guinea.

Société Guinéenne du Patrimoine Minier (SOGUIPAMI), the government of the Republic of Guinea's investment vehicle, will work with African Iron Ore Group within the framework of the new company, Infrastructures Minières de Guinée Holdings(IMG). SOGUIPAMI will own 60 per cent of IMG and AIOG will own 40 per cent.

Ireland’s Dawn Meats has clinched a five-year, €300 million contract to process up to 18,000 tonnes of Irish beef annually for McDonald’s Ireland.

In order to fulfill the contract, Dawn Meats has invested €14.5 million in a new purpose-built, state-of-the-art beef processing facility in Carroll’s Cross, Co Waterford, creating 65 new jobs. In addition, over 100 construction jobs have been created during the construction phase of the facility, which commenced in December 2011.

European dairy co-operative Arla Foods has announced plans for two major mergers—with German dairy Milch-Union Hocheifel and the UK’s Milk Link.

Milch-Union Hocheifel (MUH) is Germany’s eighth largest dairy with owners in Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. Milk Link is the UK’s fourth largest dairy.

If the mergers are finalised and approved, Arla will be represented by owners in its four largest markets: the UK, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, as well as Belgium and Luxembourg.

Google has released a major new study into the use of social tools in the workplace, which gathered opinions from 2,700 professionals across Europe.

The research revealed that 71 percent of senior executives are using social tools at work at least once a week compared to 49 percent of those in more junior roles – going against the stereotype that social media in business is most popular with younger generations.

German utility company E.ON has sold its gas transmission company in Germany, Open Grid Europe, to a consortium for €3.2 billion.  

The consortium consists of Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 4, Infinity Investments, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, and MEAG MUNICH ERGO Asset Management.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has today announced that it will fully acquire Cellzome, a developer of proteomics technologies, for £61 million.

GSK already owns 20 per cent of Cellzome, a privately owned company with laboratories in Cambridge, UK, and Heidelberg, Germany. The company will become part of GSK’s R&D organisation.

A major natural gas discovery has been made offshore Mozambique in the deepwater Rovuma Basin.

The discovery was made by London, UK-based Cove Energy together with its partner, Houston, US-based Aanadarko Petroleum, nearly 20 miles north-west of the Prosperidade complex.

The Golfinho discovery well encountered more than 193 net feet of natural gas pay in two high-quality Oligocene fan systems. The well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 14,885 feet in water depths of approximately 3,370 feet.

Rank Group has announced it is to acquire Gala Casinos from Gala Coral Group for £205 million.

Rank will acquire 23 casinos in Great Britain and three non-operating licences. The deal is set to create the largest casino operator in Great Britain by number of casinos, with 58 operating venues and 13 non-operating licences.

Rank said the deal presents a “significant opportunity” for it to continue delivering sustainable value for shareholders through the development of its casino portfolio.

German multinational engineering and electronics giant Bosch Group had a record-setting year in 2011 and the outlook remains positive for 2012.

In fiscal year 2011, the company best known for its automotive components achieved worldwide sales of $71.7 billion (€51.5 billion), recording its second highest rate of growth since 2000.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has announced it will go hostile with its $2.6 billion bid for Human Genome Sciences by taking the offer directly to shareholders.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is refusing to participate in the strategic alternatives review process offered by US-based Human Genome Sciences (HGS), on the basis that it is unnecessary and that there is existing strategic and financial logic to the combination of the two companies. GSK said that HGS shareholders should have the opportunity to decide for themselves on the merits of the offer.